Shredded Eagle, Sad Tambourine

Disc review

by Kevin Laforest – January 5, 2012

The year has barely started and we’ve already made a great discovery. This second album written, arranged and produced by Montreal-by-way-of-Saskatoon indie folk singer Tessa Kautzman is an immediately gripping listen, in no small part because of its gorgeous instrumentation. Opening track Worlds Apart starts with sparse guitar and bass notes, soon joined by Kautzman’s crystalline voice, layers of Wurlitzer, percussion and drums, and finally a lone violin coming in for the kill. On Optimistic, it’s a saxophone solo that makes the song soar; elsewhere, it’s the wail of a trumpet. And on The Next Day’s Fight, the record’s majestic closer, the interplay between the piano, the vocal harmonies and a fuzzed-out guitar is simply out of this world.